Paternal Instincts
by Obscure Soul
Summary: Who knew that Becker was so good with a baby? Rated 'T' for mentions of death. Related to 27 Things, but can be read as a standalone.


**A/N: Okay, I confess, some of these ideas have been floating around in my head for a while now, so, like I've said on my profile, I'm going to write up some of the things mentioned in 27 Things. If anyone has one in particular that they'd like to see, review or PM me with the one that they want. I'm not making any promises, but I'll see what I can do. Anyway, here's Jess' #16!**

**DISCLAIMER: Yeah, big shock, I didn't get the rights to Primeval for Christmas. Or Ben Mansfield…:(**

**Parental Instincts**

No-one knew where she came from.

It had just been a routine anomaly, though God only knows when anomalies became _routine_.

A pack of prehistoric animals that Abby had told them were distant ancestors to the wolves came through.

Then one came through with a curious bundle between its teeth.

When one of the soldiers, Sargent Miller, had approached the wolf, the rest of the pack had growled, and he retreated hastily.

Carefully, the team and the soldiers separated the wolf carrying the bundle from the rest of the pack, and had EMD'ed the wolf.

Connor's head peered into the pink blankets to see large brown eyes staring back. Leaping back in shock, he exclaimed,

"It's a baby!"

And that's when it began its obnoxiously loud shrieking. Connor frowned at Abby, who sighed, and picked up the baby, jiggling it gently and trying to calm it.

"Bring it back to the ARC." Matt had decided, "And Becker – when you get Jess' chocolate bar, could you pick up some baby stuff too?" Becker glared at the team leader, his cheeks flushing a light pink. Matt simply smirked.

* * *

><p>Upon arrival back at the ARC, Becker could still hear the infant incessantly wailing. Frowning in sympathy, he hurried his pace.<p>

"Hey." He said to Jess, placing her chocolate bar onto the desk.

"Well, the baby's a girl." She told him, "If you're interested, that is. Poor thing; she's just being passed around Ops. But she really just won't stop crying." She nodded over to Connor, who had a look of terror on his face as he held the child at arms' length; as though she was about to kill him at any minute. Becker just rolled his eyes and walked over to Connor. He looked slightly relieved, and then furrowed his eyebrows at the advancing soldier.

"Hang on – you're not going to take her from me, are you?" He asked suspiciously, sounding slightly wary. Becker smirked.

"Nope." He watched the wailing child curiously, deep in thought. He noted the way that she was leaning her head into Connor's chest, and her tongue kept poking out into the air. Once he was satisfied, Becker stalked off without a word. Connor sent Jess a questioning glance, to which she shrugged bemusedly and turned back to the ADD.

* * *

><p>"Temple." Becker called when he returned, five minutes later, armed only with a small bottle, containing some formula milk. His arms were outstretched.<p>

As if to take the baby?

Connor's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"You…you want to take the baby?" He asked incredulously.

"Yes." He said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

"Well, okay then!" As dumbfounded as Connor was at the fact that Becker was _volunteering _to hold the pink, fluffy bundle of noise, he was extremely relieved that he did no longer have to take care of it.

Scooping her gently so that he was fully supporting her, Becker smiled at the small child, who had quietened, and was now looking at him curiously. Her tongue darted out to touch the air again, and he smiled, before gently pressing the bottle to her mouth. She accepted, and greedily began to guzzle the liquid down. He chuckled quietly.

"Steady on!" He told her gently, beginning to sway slightly. "Oh, you're so hungry, aren't you? How long have you gone without a proper meal, eh?"

"Um." Connor looked at him as though he were mad, "You _do_ realise that she can't talk back, right?" Becker rolled his eyes,

"You're meant to talk to babies. It helps them to learn, and hearing a human voice can re-assure them. Especially as we don't know how long she's spent with the wolves."

After she had demolished the whole bottle, Becker reached down and placed the bottle on the nearest desk. Lifting her so that her chin rested gently on his shoulder, he began to jiggle gently, and pat and rub her back. Hearing a particularly long burp, he said with a small smile,

"And I should think so, too; what with the way you _inhaled _that milk."

* * *

><p>All Jess could do was <em>stare<em>.

She'd long since given up any pretence of doing work, much like most of the occupants in the Ops room, and, indeed, the entire ARC.

Captain Becker, Head of Security, was quietly cooing at the baby in his arms, as he had been for the past three hours.

And the only thoughts flying around her head were of him holding _their_ child.

_Oh, God._

She'd never wanted a child more in her life.

* * *

><p>Finally, he was silent.<p>

The whole ARC was waiting with baited breath.

"She's asleep." Becker announced quietly to Connor. He looked up –

- To find half of the ARC staff in the Ops Room, just staring at him. Heat flooded through his cheeks as he attempted to defend himself.

"Well, someone had to take care of her. No-one else was doing it right." He rolled his eyes before stalking out, muttering something about finding somewhere quiet to put her.

* * *

><p>Becker looked up sharply as someone knocked and the door to his office opened. Looking relieved as Jess poked her head round, he pressed his finger to his lips and beckoned her in.<p>

"How are- "Jess stopped as the sentence in her head completely disappeared. Becker's eyes were definitely redder than normal.

"Becker, are you…okay?" She asked lamely.

"Fine." He told her in a short, yet decidedly hoarse voice. "Was there anything you needed?" She shrugged and shook her head.

"Nothing in particular. Just…wanted to talk." Becker gave her a slight forced smile and stood.

"I'd offer you the other chair, but…" He trailed off, gesturing to the low, blue cushioned chair in the corner where the baby girl lay. Jess smiled softly at the peaceful child, before sitting in Becker's warm spinny chair and thanking him. Leaning against the edge of his desk and folding his arms over his chest, Becker looked at Jess questioningly.

"You wanted to talk?" Jess bit her lip, wondering how best to broach the subject. For a long while, the only noise was the soft snuffles and even breathing coming from the small child.

"I never knew you were so good with kids." She settled on finally. Becker gave her a small smile.

"Got a niece and a nephew. Helped raised them." He shrugged, "My elder sister left her partner before my nephew was born, and my younger sister's husband died when she was six months' pregnant. They let me take his place on paternity leave to support her."

"Oh." Was all Jess could say, before falling silent again.

"I was a dad once." Becker said, disturbing the long noiseless period. He really had no clue _why _he was telling her. It just felt..._right_ to tell her. Like she ought to know.

"What?" Jess' startled word fell from her lips. Becker smiled bitterly, nodding.

"Yeah.

"I was twenty-one and, for once, life was going alright. I was in a long-term relationship with a good girl; my family were, for the most part, happy, as were my friends. I had no problems, and I was about to be deployed on a tour to Afghanistan.

"She was about two months behind Lizzi, my sister, and so, when it happened, I was back in England, taking care of her and my niece.

"Amelia, my girlfriend, was on her way over from her parents' house. She was going to pick me up. We were going to go out to dinner, where I planned to propose. An hour previously, she'd called me to tell me she was leaving her parents'. I was slightly worried; it was only a forty-minute journey. Lizzi told me not to worry; it was rush hour, and Amelia was probably stuck in traffic.

"And then I got the call." Becker paused, his throat tight like it usually was when he spoke about Amelia.

"What call?" Jess' voice was a whisper; emotions constricting her voice also. She was completely consumed by his tale.

"There was an accident on the motorway. Amelia had been taken to hospital. I leaped in my car and drove there as fast as I could.

"She was losing a lot of blood, so they took her in to get an emergency C-section; to try and save the baby-" Becker's voice cracked and dropped to a barely-there whisper.

"She died during the C-section. They couldn't revive her. They managed to get the baby out, though. But he was severely brain damaged and clearly clinging onto life by a thread.

"They asked me what I wanted to do, Jess. Did I let them try to save him, or let nature take its course, and put him out of his misery. I looked into his eyes; Amelia's gorgeous green eyes. They were so _sad_." Becker choked up at this, and his eyes slid shut,

"I couldn't do it, Jess. I couldn't let him live when he was so clearly in pain. So I held my arms out toward him. They wrapped him up in towels and handed him to me." Tears were falling thick and fast from his eyes now, hitting the floor with an audible thud in the stilled quiet of the room.

"For five minutes, five _glorious _minutes, I had a son. His name was George Rory Becker, and he looked just like me – but he had his mother's eyes. And mine never left his for the entire time. I didn't even blink. I just told him that it was okay for him to go to his mum; that he'd be better there. He wouldn't be in pain.

"His eyes shut. He breathed _one last time_. And then-" Becker drew in a sharp breath.

"He was gone."

Jess was silent for a long while, blinking back tears of her own, and failing miserably. Then, quite suddenly, she stood, and drew him tightly to her. With no resistance, he let her, wrapping his arms around her tightly and burying his head into the crook of her neck.

They were unaware of how long they stood there. But he wept silently for the child that he never had the chance to know, and she wept silently for his pain. Together, their tears provided an indescribably deep comfort for the other.

After some time, Becker pulled his head back to stare at her.

"Thank you." He said finally, his voice still coloured with emotion.

"What for?" Jess' voice was still incredibly husky.

"For listening. For comforting me. For being so…compassionate. You're brilliant, Jess. You really are." His voice was a whisper, and his hand came up to her cheek, gently wiping away the tears. Jess' hand found his other, and she squeezed it tightly.

"I'm always here for you, Becker. Always." She told him softly. He smiled at that. A rare, true, _happy_ smile.

"I know." For the longest while, blue and brown were connected. And for one moment, Jess was _sure_ that he was going to kiss her. And for the first time, she really didn't want to kiss him.

All she wanted to do was comfort him; take away his pain.

But the moment was ruined as the baby on the chair decided to announce her waking rather loudly.

* * *

><p>The weeks flew by. The baby girl's parents had eventually come through the anomaly, where they were re-united. Becker, who had been taking care of her until that point, had handed the baby girl, Mary, over to her parents, who were from the 1930s. Charles and Victoria had thanked him profusely, to which he waved them off and told them that it was a pleasure. He and Jess stood side by side, watching the three leave back through the anomaly.<p>

No one saw his hand entwined tightly with hers, or her thumb rubbing his hand comfortingly.

**A/N 2: This was entirely _not_ how I intended this to end up. It was meant to be light-hearted. And then...this was born. I welled up typing this. And that's no easy feat. For those who want to know what happened between them, I would suggest reading 27 Things. Please review, it would mean a lot. :)**


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